This invention relates to large stationary refuse compactors of the type including a portable refuse container which is detachably engaged with a packer unit having a ram for forcing refuse to a load opening in the door of the refuse container. The ram is repeatedly extended and retracted to compact the refuse within the container until it is filled. The portable refuse container is then detached from the packer unit and transported to a refuse disposal site.
In order to prevent the compacted refuse from dropping out of the container through the load opening during transport, it has been standard practice to place an elongated bar across the opening to restrain the compacted refuse, and to place a cover over the opening to prevent any refuse from falling out of the container through the opening. An example of such an arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,414, granted to Robert J. Pioch, on May 10, 1966.
The manual placement of the restraining member across the load opening is a difficult procedure since the restraining member must be very long to span the opening, and very strong, in order to withstand the forces exerted by the compacted refuse thereon. In actual practice, a steel pipe of approximately 8 feet long and 2 or more inches in diameter has been used, and the installation of the pipe requires that the ends thereof be engaged with supporting means on the container. The installation of such a pipe furthermore requires considerable room laterally of the compactor.
Attempts have been made to facilitate the engagement of the restraining member with the refuse container across the load opening, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,313, granted to Donal W. Chaney, on June 8, 1971. In this arrangement, however, it is still necessary to manually insert the restraining member through a side of the container and the packer unit.
In addition to the above noted installation problems, the openings in the container and packer unit also create a safety hazard which, in the past, have resulted in serious injury to individuals caused by inserting limbs through these openings. As a consequence, the compactor industry has abandoned the use of pin-off devices, and has been left with no means for restraining the compacted refuse in the container during transport.